The technical committee of Cultural Heritage of the Government of Canarias has issued an unfavorable report regarding the declaration of the dictatorship monument in Santa Cruz de Tenerife as a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC). This decision represents a setback for the association that sought its protection and maintenance, and has been received with optimism by associations of victims of Francoism.
“"It is an important step. The statue is a symbol that directly clashes with democratic values and constitutes an offense to the victims."
The Cabildo de Tenerife initiated the process for the BIC declaration last year, in compliance with a court ruling. Experts in the Catalog of Vestiges of Canarias and the sculpture's inauguration in 1966 indicate that the monument represents the departure of the generalissimo from Canarias to lead the military uprising.
During the instruction phase, several reports were submitted. Two of them, from the University of La Laguna (ULL) and Museums of Tenerife, opposed the protection, arguing the lack of exceptional artistic value and its contradiction with Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory. Two other reports, from the Royal Academy of Extremadura of Letters and Arts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts San Miguel de Arcángel, defended its artistic value without considering its historical context.
Numerous democratic memory associations and political parties also submitted allegations, emphasizing that the sculpture contradicts democratic memory laws. The Government of Spain, through the Government Delegation in Canarias, also argued that no report reflects the exceptional and outstanding nature of the work.
“"This monument must be removed. It should not be a monument to peace or concord."
The file will now pass to the Cultural Heritage Council of Canarias, which usually follows the recommendations of technical reports. Historical memory associations believe that the lack of recognized artistic value facilitates compliance with historical memory laws for its removal from public spaces.
The monument, configured with a base that allegorizes the island of Tenerife, includes the figure of an archangel symbolizing the generalissimo's flight and shields of the judicial districts of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife from 1960, representing the recognition of the military uprising and the Civil War as a just cause. Its financing was carried out through a “popular subscription” under the control of military and civil government bodies.
